FOOTBALL: Chambersburg Cardinals will not play in 2013

Stadium issues: The Chambersburg Cardinals face the Central Penn Piranha in their 2012 season opener at Trojan Stadium. The Cardinals will not play this year because the organization can t afford to pay stadium rental fees, which were raised from last season. (Public Opinion file photo)

It's official.

The Chambersburg Cardinals, who have gone through a series of ups and downs in their storied 66-year history, are once again ceasing operations.

"The Cardinals will be suspended in the 2013 season," owner Russell Ruckman said. "I care for the people that were involved and committed to this organization and the people that benefited from this organization.

"I would be willing to help and advise any person or group that would like to negotiate for a 2014 season with the school district, but I myself personally cannot spearhead any future talks."

Ruckman and the Chambersburg Area School Board have been through a series of talks for more than a month, trying to find a compromise on the rental fees for Trojan Stadium. They have reached a stalemate.

When the Cardinals began renting the stadium back in 2007, they were charged $1,000 plus 10 percent of the gate receipts and any additional custodial charges.

In May 2012, a decision was made to raise the rental fees of Trojan Stadium from $1,000 to $2,000, according to Stanley Helman, Chambersburg Area School District board president.

Ruckman felt this was a cost the Cardinals could not afford, so he started a series of discussions with the school board. He made a proposal, which Helman said was "significantly less than what they had been paying in the past."

According to Ruckman, the Cardinals had previously been paying an average of $1,700 after the custodial and gate fees.

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In an email from Ruckman to the school board, which was shared with Public Opinion, he proposed a flat fee of $1,500 dollars, meaning no other charges could be incurred. He did this because he said he intended to make the Cardinals a nonprofit run strictly by volunteers; therefore he wanted to simplify the billing as much as possible.

The school board rejected that proposal, then came back with an offer to drop the rent to $1,000, but include a myriad of other fees.

Elevating: Chambersburg s Ottis Lewis, right, leaps to make a catch in the end zone for a touchdown in a 2011 win over the Lancaster Lightning. The Cardinals will not play this season. (Public Opinion file photo)

Some of those fees included a site manager, ticket sellers, concession stand and custodial fees, lights, scoreboard operator, announcer, security and a flat locker room charge. The proposal, which was sent to Public Opinion via Ruckman, averaged out to a grand total of approximately $2,082, not including 10 percent of the gate.

"We did talk with the Cardinals and offered to go back to the $1,000 rate that we had charged," Helman said. "The only change that was made was that because of issues that we had had in the past, we decided that we were going to require our own personnel to provide security and do announcing and those types of things."

Helman would not elaborate on those issues.

"We tried with different panels to figure out a way to work out better terms in rental," Ruckman said. "I was looking to donate the shares of the organization and convert it to a nonprofit for the community. It became obvious over the past three years that the biggest benefit this organization can provide is community service. With that being said, I know exactly what this organization can afford and what it can do."

After the back-and-forth debate, Ruckman informed the school board on Thursday afternoon that the Chambersburg Cardinals would be suspended for the 2013 season.

Stacking up

When the rental fee of Trojan Stadium was raised, Ruckman said he was told the new rates were comparable to other facilities.

While teams such as the Central Penn Piranha pay approximately $1,200 for their facility, the accommodations at Trojan Stadium are state of the art. The Lancaster Lightning, who play at Manheim Township Athletic Complex, do not even have locker rooms.

"I'd say a lot of the facilities aren't comparable," said Dave Kmiecik, director of media relations for the Piranha. "Of a lot of the places we've been, Trojan Stadium is one of the best. I love going there."

More comparable facilities charge much more than Chambersburg. For instance, Cumberland Valley's rental fee is a flat $7,000, according to Helman, while Altoona charges $4,000 but may have additional fees.

Other issues

While the financial situation was clearly the straw that broke the camel's back, there were other issues that had been brewing, according to some Cardinal players.

"It was a situation where honestly I believe some of the upper management their head got a little too big for what we were trying to accomplish," Cardinal center Adam Hoffman said. "It was pushed more as a business, and being somebody that played football since I was 8 and I love the game, once it goes from being fun to being a business, it drains you in ways that can't be explained."

Cardinal defensive tackle Jonathan Pretlow said he also felt as if the lines of communication started to close.

"When you had certain things happening that they didn't want anyone else to know about, it created divisions," Pretlow said. "Semi-pro football, when we were on the field as Cardinals, we always said we all gotta go back to work on Monday. We do it for the love of it, and it's supposed to be fun."

Impact

Because the Cardinals have been a part of the Chambersburg community for a number of years, it's expected will be a huge impact.

The Cardinals boast the importance of community service. On their website, there are more than 30 partnerships listed, and players were constantly involved with charitable events.

"I work with kids put in unfortunate situations and had kids come to games," said Cardinal wide receiver Ottis Lewis, who works at Manito Alternative School. "It was nice to show people I'm doing something positive with the community. I was giving the kids positive reinforcements through sports, and I want to continue to do that whether the season happens or not."

Not only will the community be affected, players who have come to Chambersburg with the hopes of boosting their careers will no longer have that opportunity.

"Coming from a player's perspective, this is, for some players, an opportunity to venture out, get their film and get a better opportunity," Lewis said. "It affects a lot of players that were recruited. They don't know where to go. It's done some great things."

Moving on

The world of semi-pro football is one that is very fluid, meaning to stay relevant, you have to stay involved.

When the situation began unfolding, former Cardinal coach Chad Fauson decided to take up a post with the Piranha, where he is the special teams coach as well as an assistant offensive line coach. He'll also spend time recruiting.

"I didn't agree with the direction the Cardinals were heading," Fauson said. "There was an opportunity there (with the Piranha), and I figured why not? It's not like I was done yet."

After receiving the news of the season's cancellation, Cardinal tight end Ron Dawkins, who had played with Chambersburg since 2005, said he will likely join the Piranha. Although Central Penn was a former rival, Dawkins said he wasn't ready to give up football just yet.

"It was a hard decision for me to make because I've been with the Cardinals for years now," Dawkins said. "Football is football, and there's no animosity toward that team or anything. Playing for the Piranha - they were our rival. But one of my friends that plays professional sports said you have to think of it like you got traded. That might've been your rival team, but that's sports."

Lewis, who has now lived in Chambersburg for two years, said he will likely remain in the area and put football on hold.

The future of other players are still up in the air. Some fan favorites are with other teams - Jerell Jones is currently playing for the Harrisburg Stampede, while Hoffman is focusing on the team he owns, the Maryland Outlaws.

Pretlow is stepping away from football and taking the opportunity to be a coach for his son Julius' soccer team at Andrew Buchanan Elementary School.

Emotional response

Lewis had a very emotional connection to the team because of his relationship with fan Shirley Gardner, who passed away from cancer. One of her last wishes was to meet with a Cardinal, particularly Lewis. She was a super fan.

"From my perspective, I know that recently we've started to build the program up," Lewis said. "I know that whenever I wear my Cardinals hoodie around town, people are always asking me if I'm coming back, and I definitely know the community has the Cardinals' back."

Over the course of the last three years, the Cardinals have lost just four games. They have won two championships, including one in the Big Northeast Football Federation and one Gridiron Developmental Football League title.

It's no surprise that the players who have been through the glory days had a difficult time with the news of a canceled season.

"We had turned the team around, the program was better, we were winning more games, and we won the championship two years in a row," Dawkins said. "It's unfortunate and it's just kind of a heartbreaker that the team is not going to be there. For me to be part of that organization and build that team up to what it's been to now - it not being anything - it's terrible. It's a terrible feeling."

Possible comeback

This isn't the first time the Cardinals have taken time away from the football field.

This was the third-generation Cardinals, and the long-term future of the team remains unknown. While Chambersburg will not play in the premier GDFL this season, its relationship with the league remains on good terms.

"We definitely want them, and our goal was that they'd have a team, so that's why we held off on announcing anything," GDFL president Charles Thompson said. "Our goal is to try to get behind those guys, and we'd definitely want to bring them back into the GDFL, so we're possibly looking to put them on hold for 2014."

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Lizi Arbogast can be reached at 262-4788 or larbogast@publicopinionnews.com.